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The Paleo diet essentially allows foods that were available to humankind during the Paleolithic period, which is why the diet is sometimes referred to as the Stone Age diet, hunter-gatherer diet or caveman diet. Generally, anything that could have been hunted down and killed for food or found by foraging in the forest can be eaten. Foods that weren't in existence at the time, such as refined and processed foods, are off limits.

The main premise of the diet is that people during the Paleolithic era, which ended around 10,000 years ago, evolved nutritional needs that were based on foods that were readily available during the time period. The diet's founders believe that humans' nutritional needs are best met eating foods that were only available at the time, and they also believe the human metabolic system has not caught up with the influx of other foods into the modern diet, including legumes, grains and dairy foods, and that those following a Paleo diet plan can enjoy a more active, healthier and longer-lived life.